Business Q&A: Welder focuses on maintaining father's hard work at local shop

Welder focuses on maintaining father's hard work at San Angelo shop

Photos by Justin Zamudio/ San Angelo Standard-Times Daniel Motl, owner of Motl Welding, welds a tire holder to a trailer he created with a piece of steel in his workshop earlier this month. Motl was instructed by his customer that they wanted a place to lock in a spare tire on their trailer. After hours of thinking the project through, Motl engineered a piece of steel that was complete with a chain and place for a padlock.

Motl (left) analyzes a piece of an engine that needs welding repairs brought in by Jason Holloway of Wilson Tire & Auto. Motl doesn't do mobile welding; he only does jobs that can make it in and out of his shop. His current projects varied from a cracked transmission to a broken bed frame to a damaged tractor implement.

SAN ANGELO, Texas - Since the 1990s, Daniel Motl has operated his family's 50-year-old business as a one-man army.

The sole owner is tasked with keeping the 109 E. Avenue K shop clean, visiting with customers, writing tickets, ordering materials and, of course, repairing and completing all the welding work on items that are brought in.

Motl and his two sisters were raised in Motl Welding, the shop his father Ellis Motl opened in 1962. As the only son, Motl was the most inclined to work there permanently.

"I was welding before I started school," he said. "I was born in 1960, and they had the shop in 1962, so at 2 years old I was down here under my dad's feet. I should have spent more time learning in school, but I was learning the trade."

Upon further thought, Motl added that he doesn't have any regrets about his focus.

"I really like what I do," he said. "This is all I've ever done, all my life."

Ellis and Mary Motl gave the business a successful start with the teamwork they established early on, he said.

"You don't just open the doors and business is there," he said. "Dad would go out on the field, and Mom would keep the shop open. To keep a business going, somebody has to be here."

When Motl became an employee, work was split among the three family members, he said.

"Mom would do the books, keep the shop swept, keep the office clean," Motl said. "Dad would do the bids and talk to the people while I did a lot of the work."

The welding jobs his father did, such as building trailers to haul animal byproducts, typically required him to work on location. Motl, in contrast, has smaller jobs that he handles at the shop, he said.

"I try to fix anything that comes through the door, whether it's stainless or magnesium, brass, copper, steel," Motl said, adding that the bulk of his work is repairs. "One thing about the welding business is that everybody has a welding machine, but not everybody can get (the job) done just the way they want it.

"I'm mechanically-inclined. I can see in my head what we're trying to do, what happened, what made it break. If you fix what broke but don't fix what caused it, you'll have to go back and do it again."

Motl has been working solo since he took over upon his father's retirement in 1995, he said. Ellis Motl died last February.

"It does have its rocky spots," Motl said of being a small-business owner. "When business is good you hate to take time off because you're missing work, and when business is slow you hate to take time off because you want to be down there catching every nickel you can."

Further contributing to the challenges of operating a welding business, Motl said, is the fact that many of his father's repeat customers are no longer around, and corporations such as WTU and AEP are doing more of their welding in-house.

Fortunately, Motl said, the shop is paid for and he doesn't have employees, so his overhead costs are low.

"We've just got to keep pushing forward," he said of his goals for the business. "There's nothing else that I would rather do than be down here. People ask me, 'When are you going to retire?' I'm not really looking forward to retiring. As long as my health holds up, Lord willing and the creek don't rise, I'll try to keep the doors open."

Standard-Times: Why did you decide to keep the business going?

Motl: I love my work. Everybody who comes in here is my boss, but I'd have a hard time working for somebody else day in and day out. There's nothing in San Angelo I could do as good as welding.

What's the most difficult part of being a business owner?

The hardest part is writing the ticket and charging people. But they have to understand, this is my livelihood.

I've got a wonderful wife; we've been married 32 years. I have two kids both in college. I'm living the American dream.

Aside from your low overhead and the fact that you recognize the importance of being in the office, why do you think Motl Welding has survived the past 50 years?

The quality control I have is that anything that comes in, I'm the one who handles it. If anybody has a complaint, I don't have to say, 'Who fixed that?' I (also) like to bid the work so there's no surprises. I might do a job that somebody thinks is a $10 job that's a $50 job. This gives them a chance to go shopping. Honesty and being up front with people (are important).

Are there any interesting history tidbits about the business?

Beginning in the late '70s, early '80s (for about 25 years), I had a display case and people would come by and see our live rattlesnakes at the shop. The idea came from George Motl, my dad's uncle. He had them on display at his radiator shop on Chadbourne Street because they used to go out and catch them. Dad said, 'I'll put them in the toolbox, and if thieves come (to the shop) they'll get a snake too.' That was a pretty good way to protect the property while you're out. A lot of people to this day still come in and say, 'Do you still have the snakes?' That was kind of the landmark; when you'd mention a welding shop and snakes, people knew it was Motl Welding.

What's the reason for the open house you're having on Wednesday?

Anybody and everybody is welcome to come by and grab some refreshments. It's just kind of a celebration of 50 years; January was our anniversary. Fifty years in San Angelo is not too bad.